Dealing With Listening to Your Neighbors Fighting Constantly
Research shows numerous detrimental effects of disruptive neighbors. Here’s how to make it stop.
I met Mark and Cheryl in the hallway on the third night of living in my new apartment. They were nice and just returning from the gym. I waved to them as they got to their door and walked over to introduce myself.
They were both in their early 20s, attractive, and friendly enough. I thought nothing more of it and hoped we could hang out at some point and be friends.
The problems came early though. They were still in their party phase as a young couple, with music and loud conversations that filtered through my walls every Friday and Saturday night without fail, but also during weekdays. This noise didn’t stop at 10 or 11 PM. It often extended well past midnight. I wondered how they had so much energy.
One night, I heard loud and collective female laughter cut through the wall, and someone shouting, “Oh my god! Me too!”
I’ve struggled with disruptive noise long before this, and have written about my issues with misophonia (a condition where you get triggered by small sounds). Fortunately, and oddly, misophonia often doesn’t trigger with broader, more ambient noises that are more all…
